Apparatus for twisting wire



Nov. 7,1933.

c. K. H ILL APPARATUS FOR TWISTING WIRE Filed Feb. 4, 1 931 4 Shegts-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 0 m 7/65 A. /-/I'// A T-TORN E Y6 Nov. 7, 1933. c.-K. HILL A-PPARATUS FOR TWISTING WIRE Filed Feb. 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Charles /f #271. BY aas, r dag ATTORNEYS Nov. 7, 1933. c. K. HILL 2 APPARATUS FOR TWISTINE} WIRE Filed Feb. 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 \7 INVENTOR. 52 54 (her/6s fiz'l/ ATTORNE APPARATUS FOR TWIS TING WIRE Filed Feb. 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I411 Jill] 45 v INVENTOR.

@9 02474 K. Hz'l ATTO 1 EY6 Patented Nov. 7, 1933 1,934,122 APPARATUS FOR 'rwrs'rmo wnu:

Charles K. Hill, Cleveland, Ohio Application February 4, 1931. Serial No. 513,262

16 Claims.

is obvious that such a method is costly and.

slow and the use of such nails, while desirable due to their great holding power, has been limited by the cost of manufacture.

Also, it

has not been possible to use certain hard and tough steels for these nails because the dies used to impart the thread to the nail are quickly worn out on the hard steel.

For these reasons it is highly desirable to prepare nails of the type of drive screws from a twisted stock rather than from straight stock which must be rolled after the nail is formed. It is the aim of the present invention to provide a machine which will twist a long wire continuously and impart to such wire a twist of uniform pitch. This can be done only by pulling the wire at a constant rate of speed while rotating twisting means at a constant radial speed. Where twisted wire has been wound up on drums in previous machines, it has been attempted to sur= mount the diiflculty presented by the gradually increasing size of'the bundle and the consequent increasing speed at which the wire was pulled through the twisting head, by providing a fric tion drive which would permit slippage to compensate for theincreased linear speed with which the wire was pulled through the apparatus as the size of the bundle of wire increased.

I have now discovered a means having a positive drive instead of a friction drive which is not satisfactory for accurate work, whereby wire, even of very hard and tough stock, such as steels containing manganese and carbon, may be uniformly twisted continuously in long pieces, lengths up to 1800 feet having been successfully twisted. It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a means for continuously twisting a long wire.

Another object of the making machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combination of a wiretwisting apparatus with a nail-making machine which produces nails having threaded shanks at very slightly increased cost over ordinary nails. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of .the apparatus; Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of a piece of wire before and after twisting; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal elevation, partly in section, of the apparatus; Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 68 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the wire-guiding means shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a transverse section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is'a top W plan viewof the wire-guide or stick; Fig. 10 is a transverse section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9, together with a section through the surrounding spindle; Fig. 11 is a transverse section on the line 11--11 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 12 is an 35 end elevation of a support for the wire-guide or stick.

The apparatus herein to be described takes wire of rectangular cross-section from a bundle and twists the wire evenly throughout its W length, imparting a predetermined number of turns to the inch and rewinds the wire into a bundle for use on a nail machine. The wire is drawn through a holding means which permits forward travel but prevents turning of the wire before a certain point in the line of travel is reached. Revolving means thentalze the wire and cause a portion of it to revolve with the means while a winding device pulls the wire through the apparatus and winds it into a coil ready to be passed through a nail-making machine.

The apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 consists of a machine having a base 1, the machine carrymg a winding drum 2 and a spider 3 together with a stick or wire-holding means. A drive shaft 4 is mounted in the base of the machine from which the drum andspider are positively d ven at slightly varying speeds so as to pull 11 0 the wire through themachine at the desired footage .to obtain the twist required.

Referring now to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the machine is mounted on supporting legs 5, the driving shaft,4 being suitably journaled in the base and being driven from any suitable power source (not shown). On the base are mounted, at the right, a pair of hollow bearing supports 5 in which is mounted a hollow spindle 7. This spindle extends longitudinally of the base and has revolubly mounted thereon the winding drum 2 on the bearing 8, the drum and the spindle having a slight differential in rotating speeds. To the left of the machine is a second pair of bearing supports 9 in which is mounted a rotating shaft 10 which is the driving shaft for the drum 2.

These bearing supports are mounted on a slidable plate 11 carried in suitable guideways 12, the guideways being formed in suitable members 13 at the sides of the base and having overlapping bars 14 secured by cap screws 15 so as to allow the plate 11 to be removed as desired. Longitudinal movement of the plate 11 with its bearing supports 9 and shaft 10 is accomplished by rack 16 and pinion 17 operated by the hand wheel 18.

The shaft 10 is provided betweenfthe bearings with sprockets 19 and 19' which are keyed to the shaft. The sprocket 19 is connected by a 'chain 20 to a sprocket 21 slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the drive shaft 4, there being an'arm 22 depending from the sliding plate 11 and having engagement with a hub 23 of the sprocket21 to move the latter along the drive shaft with the plate 11. The sprocket 19' may be connected to a corresponding sprocket 21' by a chain to change the speed of rotation of the drum 2, the chain 20 being removed at the same time.

The wmding drum is slightly tapered and is provided at its forward or right hand end with a flange 25 connected to the conical portion of the drum by a curved area 26, which is of hardened steel, to allow the wire to slide slowly down onto the smaller portion of the drum. At the rear end, the drum is closed and isprovided with a bearing hub 27, the end having a series of apertures 28. The end of the drum has a cover plate or disc 29 which is non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 10 and which is larger than the ported therein by an inserted journal hub 32.

By means of this mechanism the disc may be withdrawn from the end of the drum along with the shaft 10 and plate 11, leaving the drum end clear for the removal of the coiled twisted wire in'a bundle, and then the disc may be moved forwardly by the rack and pinion mechanism, above mentioned, again-to close and engage the drum for the next bundle.

At the forward end of the machine, the spindle '7 is provided, between the bearings 6, with' gether with the opening 38 in the spindle, a space for a grooved wheel 42 having its axis at right angles to that of the spindle. The spider itself has a plurality of legs 43, preferably two as shown in the drawings, but the number of legs is not important provided the spider has a rotating balance. At their outer extremities, the legs 43 are bent rearwardly and support grooved pulley wheels 44 over which the wire passes to the drum. As best shown in Fig. 4, the pulleys on the spider legs extend beyond and substantially overlie the forward end of the winding drum so as to allow the wire to drop down and he wound upon the curved area 26 between the flange 25 and the conical part of the drum proper.

Inside the spindle and ahead of the spider pulley wheel 42, as shown inFig. 7, is mounted a wire-guide or stick 45 which is slidably mounted-in a supportingbracket 46 positioned on'the forward end of the base, the stick being adjustable therein and being clamped in place by a'cap plate 4'7 secured by cap screws 48. The

spider is, in effect, longitudinally displaced from the stick 45 forwardly with relation to the direction of travel of the wire. The stick consists of a metal bar having a slot 49 extending longitudinally, the slot being wide enough to receive the rectangular wire. At its rear end, the stick is provided with a recess 51 in which, preferably, is mounted twogrooved wheels 52 and 53, the grooves being shaped to provide a rectangular opening for the wire. The lower wheel 52 is mounted on a pin 54 carried in the stick and the upper wheel 53 is carried in a pivotally mounted plate 55'which is held in place by means of set screws 56, there being adjusting screws 57 to space the plate and wheel from the lower wheel.

The stick is, of course, longitudinally adjustable and the twisting-action on the wire takes place between the end wheels 52 and 53 in the stick and the pulley wheel 42 in the spider hub, the number of twists per inch varying with the rate of rotation of the spider and the speed with which the wire is drawn through the stick by means of the winding drum, which is the driving means for the wire. The wire is fastened to the drum by being passed through an aperture 58 in the forward flange and secured around a pin or bolt 59.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: A wire 60 which may be of rectangular cross section, as shown in Fig. 2, is fed from a reel 61 mounted on a table 62 and passes through the hollow spindle '7 to the wire-guide or stick 45 where therollers 52 and 53 permit the wine to travel forward, but hold it against rotation due to the shape of the opening between these grooved rollers. The wire passes from the rollers to the pulley 42 where its direction of travel is changed and the wire brought out to be engaged by a pulley 44 on an extremity of the spider 3. The spider revolves together with the pulleys and twists the wire between the rollers 52 and 53, beyond which no twist can take place, and the pulley 42. The drum- -2, while it revolves about the spindle '7, is driven independently thereof by means of the sprocket 19 or 19 and is given a speed which causes it to creep slightly ahead of the rotating spider 3, thus drawing the wire through the apparatus as well ascoiling it on the drum. By adjusting the speed of this drum so that it slightly exceeds the speed of the spider rotating inthe same di- Bil rection, the desired number of turns may be given to the wire while it is traversing the distance between the rollers 52 and 53 and the pulley 42, this twist corresponding to the number of turns per inch which it is desired to impart to the wire. The number of turns per unit of length or the pitch of the threaded may be varied by changing the diiferential speed of the drum over the spider. For ordinary types of screw nails the twist is 1 turns per inch, but this may be altered as desired.

The twisted wire has its forward end attached to the pin 59 and is progressively coiled on the surface 26 adjacent the flange 25. As a coil is completed on this surface it tends to slip away from the flange due to the fact that the drum is tapered toward the opposite flange 30. Thus, each succeeding coil is wound on the same surface 26, of constant diameter, and pushes the preceding coil ahead of it toward the narrow end of the drum. In operation, the wire passes from the pin 59 over to the leading coil of the bundle, as the same advances along the drum, by passingunder the bundle in a spiral, the successive coils of wire being wound over this attached end. The coiled wire hangs more or less loosely in the bundle on the tapered drum, demonstrating that the tension on the prevailing wire does not take up the slack in the bundle. This follows from the fact that the tension pulling the wire through the twisting apparatus is applied at the surface 26 only. It should be noted that the surface 26 of the drum is always free to receive the oncoming twisted wire and, as a consequence, one layer of wire is not wound over another and no compensation in radial speed of the drum is necessary to accommodate a gradually increasing effective winding diameter which would otherwise result.

Stock is fed to the apparatus from a reel of steel wire and stock is taken from the apparatus in the form of a reel of wire twisted uniformly throughout its length at any desired pitch. The reeled wire may be removed from the machine by detaching the end from the pin '59 and sliding the cover plate or disc 29 away from the drum by means of the handle 18 operating through the ratchet 16. Since the drum is made slightly tapering, the-roll of wire comes off easily and may be fed through an ordinary nail-making machine of the usual type wherein the nail blanks may be cut ofi, headed and pointed in the same manner as is done with untwisted wire.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to a wire of rectangular or square cross-section, a wire of any cross-section other than circular may be twisted in the new apparatus by making minor changes and adjustments not affecting the principle of operation of the invention. Square, oblong and triangular wires may be so twisted and particularly wires having a cross-section in the form of a square with concave sides, the latter giving a nail with particularly good holding power.

It is also within the purview of my invention to operate upon round wires, i. e., those having a circular cross-section, by passing the same through wire-forming dies of the usual type incorporated in the stick mechanism without departing from the scope of the invention.

The present apparatus is particularly useful in twisting wire made from hard and tough steel, such as steels having a manganese and carbon content Such steels are very desirable as stock for making nails but it has not been possible, by any apparatus heretofore devised, to form "a thread on such material economically since the hardness of the steel causes dies to wear out rapidly. In my apparatus manganese steels may be twisted readily with no increased wear on parts and the twisted wire, so prepared, may be converted into nails in a nail making machine at a low cost. The nails produced may be driven through steel having a thickness one-half the diameter of the nail and may be driven through-lignum vita, fiber and other materials without bending. Due to the threaded shank, the nail has great holding power and will break before it can be withdrawn by a direct pull. Other materials, such as various steels, bronze, etc., may also be used.

The above described apparatus is thus adapted to twist a long wire uniformly throughout its length and, in such apparatus, a reel of straight wire may be converted into a reel of twisted wire suitable to be immediately passed through a nail-making machine and formed into nails.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent oi such stated means be' employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An apparatus for twisting wire which comprises means for holding a traveling wire against rotation, means displaced longitudinally from said holding means adapted to rotate said wire, and winding means for said wire operating at a constant rate of ,speed and adapted to wind the wire on a surface of constant effective (iiameter.

2. An apparatus for twisting wire which comprises means for holding a traveling wire against rotation, means displaced longitudinally from said holding means adapted to rotate said wire, and means for simultaneously pulling said wire through the apparatus and winding the same on a surface of constant eiiective winding diame ter.

3. An apparatus for twisting wire which comprises means for holding a traveling wire against rotation, means placed forwardly of said holding means in the direction of travel of said wire adapted to rotate said wire, and means for simultaneously pulling said wire through the apparatus and winding the same on a surface of constant effective winding diameter.

4. An apparatus for uniformly twisting wire which comprises means for holding a traveling wireagainst rotation, means placed forwardly of said holding means in the direction of travel of said wire adapted to rotate said wire, wiremeans having a constant eflective winding di ameter for drawing said wire through said apparatus and winding the same.

6. In an apparatus for twisting wire, the combination which comprises a stationary wire guide, a revoluble spider, and a coiling drum adapted to revolve at a difl'crent constant rate nally from said stick, and a drum adapted to revolve at a higher rate of speed than said spider and having a constant eiiective winding circumference.

9. In an apparatus for making twisted wire, the combination which comprises a stick adapted to feed a squared wire and to hold said wire against rotation, a revoluble spider positioned forwardly of said stick in the direction of travel of said wire, a pulley located adjacent the axis of said spider and a pulley on an. outer extremity of said spider, said pulleys being revoluble as a unit with said spider, and a revoluble drum adapted to creep ahead or said spider.

10. In an apparatus for making twisted wire,

the combination which comprises a stick adapted to feed a squared wire and to .hold said wire against rotation, a revoluble spider positioned forwardly of said stick in the direction of travel of said wire, a pulley located adjacent the axis of said spider and a pulley on an outer extremity of said spider, said pulleys being revoluble as a unit with said spider, a revoluble drum adapted to creep ahead of said spider, and

detachable means retaining said wire on said drum.

11. In an apparatus for making twisted wire, the combination which comprises a wire guide having rolls adapted to hold a traveling wire against rotation, a revoluble spider positioned forwardly of said rolls in the direction of travel of said wire, and a winding drum adapted to be revolved at a greater constant rate of speed than said spider.

12. An apparatus for making twisted wire which comprises a stick having rolls adapted to hold-a traveling wire against rotation, a revoluble spider positioned forwardly of said rolls inthe direction of travel of said wire, means on said spider engaging said wire, a winding drum adapted to be revolved at a greater constant speed than said spider, and means for revolving said spider and said drum at difierent speeds.

13. An apparatus for making drive screws, which comprises a hollow spindle, a stick in said spindle adapted to hold a traveling wire against rotation, a spider mounted on said spindle forwardly of said stick in the direction of travel of said wire and revoluble with said spindle, wireengaging means on said spider, and a winding drum positioned on said spindle and revoluble thereto.

14. An apparatus for making twisted wire which comprises a hollow spindle, a wire guide in said spindle having rollers adapted to .hold a traveling wire against rotation, a spider mounted on said spindle and revoluble therewith, pulleys on said spider guiding and engaging said wire, a winding drum on said spindle revoluble relatively thereto, and means for revolving said spider and said drum at difierential speeds.

15. An apparatus for, making twisted wire which comprises a hollow spindle, a wire guide in said spindle having rollers adapted to hold a traveling wire against rotation, a spider mounted on said spindle and revoluble therewith, pulleys on said spider guiding and engaging said wire, a winding drum on said spindle revoluble relatively thereto, means for revolving said spider and said drum at differential speeds, and

detachable means for retaining said wire on said drum 16. An apparatus for twisting wire which comprises means for holdinga traveling wire against rotation, means displaced longitudinally from said holding means for twisting said wire, and a tapered drum for winding said wire.

CHARLES K. HILL. 

